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Energy Technology Innovation Policy (continued)

By Ananth Chikkatur, Former Associate, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group and Ambuj D. Sagar, Associate, Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program

Investigating the role of coal in India's energy sector, Chikkatur and Sagar emphasize the need for a technology roadmapping process. They highlight the interlinkages between technology innovation and public policy and provide an analytical framework to help delineate the kinds of questions that scholars and practitioners need to ask in addressing India's coal sector.

Faced with high oil prices and increasing oil imports to meet the country’s rising demand for transportation fuels, there is now a perception that India’s energy security is threatened. While the production of biodiesel has now become a national mission, CTL fuels are also gaining currency as a commercially attractive proposition because of the potentially cleaner characteristics.

In this essay, Dubey and Chikkatur describe how climate change is affecting the region from the Maldives to Pakistan, and what steps government and individuals can take to mitigate against it and adapt to it. They explore issues of food and economic security, climate injustice, and the need for sustainable lifestyles.

By Ananth Chikkatur, Former Associate, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group and Ambuj D. Sagar, Associate, Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program

This paper assesses the suitability of current and emerging advanced power generation technologies for the Indian context and presents some technology policy implications of this assessment and analysis to help the Indian coal-power sector meet the country’s energy needs in a sustainable manner.

By John P. Holdren, Former Director and Faculty Chair, Science, Technology and Public Policy Program

Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program Director John P. Holdren spoke at a Woods Hole Research Center–sponsored side event at the 13th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bali, Indonesia.

By Ananth Chikkatur, Former Associate, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group and Ambuj D. Sagar, Associate, Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program

Chikkatur and Sagar discuss the role of coal in India's energy supply, key challenges related to the growth of India's coal sector, and special institutional and governance issues. They conclude by highlighting key areas for policy focus.

By Ananth Chikkatur, Former Associate, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group and Ambuj D. Sagar, Associate, Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program

Coal accounts for about 70% of total electricity generation in India and is likely to remain a key energy source for at least the next 30-40 years. An increase in India's use of coal resources for its energy supply must occur through environmentally and socially sustainable development of this sector.

"...Iran has not suspended its uranium enrichment program, but it has not ignored the UN Security Council resolutions on Iran either, as can be discerned in the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency citing "significant progress" in Iran-IAEA cooperation. With the United States and Iran talking in Iraq and Iran-IAEA cooperation yielding concrete results in terms of Iran's nuclear transparency, the stage is potentially set for de-escalating the US-Iran tensions, particularly if both sides adopt a long-term view and sort out the security dimension."

"...the stage is set for a thaw in U.S.-Iran relations. With sufficient political will on both sides, Washington and Tehran can achieve this by adopting concrete confidence-building measures and by imposing a mutually agreed-upon moratorium on demonizing each other."